Joe Root sets eyes on Sachin Tendulkar’s cricket Test record

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It was a week that shook the cricketing world.

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There was Pakistan being taken to the cleaners by England in a Test that will go down in history and then there was India knocking the hell out of Bangladesh to sweep their series.

But topping this list was Joe Root’s sensational batting in steamy Multan in the first Test.

The former England skipper, who was forced to relinquish his captaincy after an abysmal record, has blossomed with the bat and become the highest English Test scorer. He carved out 262 in Multan and that saw him overtake Sir Alastair Cook’s 12,472 runs and into first place.

Root now stands at 12,664 runs and sits in fourth place in the longest format of the game behind the legendary Indian Sachin Tendulkar, who tops the list with 15,921 runs in 200 Tests, followed by Jacques Kallis of South Africa, Ricky Ponting of Australia and India’s Rahul Dravid.

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The 33-year-old Root now is the only batsman within striking distance of Tendulkar’s mark as the others have retired.

So, it was natural that the first question put to the Englishman was whether he was gunning for Tendulkar’s mark. But in typical Root fashion his answer was: “I’ve no idea. It’s some way off yet.”

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But he did reveal that he spent a great deal of time during the pandemic trying to improve his game.

“I worked on my game during COVID,” he said. “There were some weaknesses and I made sure they were not ignored. I also tightened up my strengths in the red-ball game.”

Several former internationals believe Root is young enough and there is an air of inevitability around him finishing at the top of the ladder when he decides to call time on his career.

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There was more drama being played out on a flat wicket in Multan apart from Root’s 35th Test century, He paired up with Harry Brook to put up 454 runs for the fourth wicket and lead England to a startling 823 for seven and to an innings and 47-run victory.

Who would have believed in this result as Pakistan hoisted a remarkable 556 in the first innings behind three centuries from skipper Shan Masood (151), Abdullah Shafique (102) and Salman Ali Agha (104 not out).

But England’s bowlers dismissed Pakistan for a meagre 220 in the second knock for this record victory. While Root hogged the limelight, it was 25-year-old Brook who established himself as a player to watch as he plundered 317 runs to become the fifth-highest England batsman.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan caused quite an uproar by benching its top three players for the second Test that started on Tuesday at the same strip as the first one in Multan.

The decision to exclude former Test captain Babar Azam has taken fans and former Test players by surprise as he has been the country’s best batsman recently, although his form has dipped in the past few months. Joining him on sidelines were the country’s best fast bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Their absence also will be greatly felt.

The new faces in the squad are uncapped Haseebullah Khan, Mehran Mumtaz and Kamran Ghulam, who made an instant impact.

The 29-year-old Ghulam made a century on his debut and helped Pakistan to 259 for five on the first day. He received solid support from Saim Ayub who scored 77 and starred in a third-wicket stand of 149.

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SAMSON LEADS THE WAY

Sanju Samson finally has made his mark on India’s national squad.

Always on the outside looking in, the star wicket-keeper grabbed his chances with both hands as he smashed his first Twenty20 century against sad-sack Bangladesh in Hyderabad. India won the third and final Twenty20 match by 133 runs to complete a 3-0 sweep.

And India did it in blistering fashion as it piled on 297 for six, the second-highest total in the shortest format of the game. It also registered the most boundaries in a Twenty20 contest with 25 and 22 sixes.

Samson, of course, led the way with his 111 coming off 44 balls that included eight sixes and 11 boundaries. Samson, who has received tremendous support help from new coach Gautam Gambhir, combined with skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who blasted a 35-ball 75, and Hardik Pandya, who smacked 47 off only 18 balls for that huge total.

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Samson and captain Yadav put on 173 runs for the second wicket and that was the third-highest score in Twenty20 cricket.

In reply, Bangladesh was restricted to 164 for seven with Towhid Hridoy making 63 off 42 balls and Litton Das hitting 42 off 25 balls.

Spinner Ravi Bishnoi was India’s best bowler with a haul of three for 30.

On its return home, the Bangladesh board suspended head coach Chandika Hathurusingha with immediate effect on disciplinary grounds. He has been replaced by former West Indies coach Phil Simmons.

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